Although no longer in operation, the development of Concorde led to the progression of pioneering technologies, which still help today’s aerospace engineers develop new high-speed aircrafts. Here Jonathan Wilkins, director at automation parts supplier EU Automation, discusses Concorde’s legacy.
Developing an aircraft capable of supersonic transport presented the engineering team with several challenges to overcome. For example, the aircraft required extremely high power and fuel to counteract the considerable friction incurred at high speeds.
The engineering team designed the aircraft to overcome these challenges, meaning Concorde could reach 1,354 miles per hour and fly from New York to Paris in under three hours. For 27 years, it transported passengers at over twice the speed of sound. However, the expense of its operation, the crash of 2000 and the September 11 terrorist attacks contributed to the decision to retire the aircraft in 2003.
Although no commercial supersonic travel has taken Concorde’s place, the technology that allowed it to break the sound barrier should not be forgotten.
Electrification
Concorde was the first aircraft to use fly-by-wire flight control. Instead of operating via cables and pushrods physically connecting the aircraft’s wings and surfaces to the pilot’s controls, fly-by-wire systems converted the pilot’s instructions to electrical signals that controlled actuators.
Fly-by-wire systems are more lightweight than manual systems because they do not require any mechanical components. They also optimise trim setting, which reduces drag, helping aircraft to reach top speeds.
Droop nose
Aircraft are designed with aerodynamics in mind, with the aim to reduce drag. However, the highly streamlined nose originally designed for Concorde actually obstructed the pilot’s visibility. To counter this, Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge developed a droop nose section. This configuration can switch between a horizontal streamlined formation for minimising drag and a drooped formation for better landing visibility.
A droop nose system was also used in the Tupolev Tu-144, the only other supersonic aircraft ever to have operated —it is likely to be an important feature in future high-speed aircraft.
Delta wing
An early prototype for Concorde had a short wing span to reduce drag, but this design also reduced the aircraft’s lift. To overcome this, the team incorporated triangle-shaped delta wings to increase the lift by producing strong vortices on their upper surfaces at high angles of attack, lowering the air pressure.
The engineering team also faced a challenge matching the centre of pressure with the aircraft’s centre of gravity. Normally, this is achieved by shifting the wing position, but because Concorde’s delta wings spanned the entire length of the fuselage, this was not possible. As a result, the only suitable shape was the ogival wing, shaped like an ogee, a kind of sigmoid curve.
Concorde’s maiden flight on March 2, 1969 lasted just 27 minutes before strong winds forced it to land. Nevertheless, the aircraft later broke numerous world records, including the fastest flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to London Heathrow Airport in just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
Although Concorde’s retirement came much earlier than was hoped, the discoveries and inventions of those who designed and developed it can be used today to inspire the design and production of new high-speed aircraft. In a rapidly developing industry, aerospace engineers can look to the past, as well as the future, to help them develop innovative, creative designs.
